Potential Funding Solutions and the PEL Study

Potential Funding Solutions

We have identified various alternative funding strategies that — with the necessary legislation and approvals — could help maintain a state of good repair on our highways and bridges. Some of these potential funding strategies might work better in certain scenarios and locations than others. It's important to note that as we studied funding options, we considered how different strategies could work together as both near- and long-term solutions.

Note: The Pennsylvania Public-Private Partnership (P3) law, as amended by Act 84 of 2022, permits optional tolling via Pennsylvania Public-Private Partnership (P3) contracts. Additional state legislation would be required to implement any other tolling options.

Bridge Tolling

There are several ways to fund costly infrastructure projects. Tolling, including bridge tolling, has been a proven way of doing so for a number of years across the country and the Commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Public-Private Partnership (P3) law, as amended by Act 84 of 2022, permits optional tolling via P3 contracts.

PennDOT owns and maintains approximately 25,400 bridges and supports another 6,600 local bridges. Maintaining them in a state of good repair is critical for the safety of the traveling public as well as an investment in economic development and quality of life for residents.

Bridge tolling is the collection of revenue from those who use a bridge, the funds from which would be used for the replacement or reconstruction and long-term maintenance of the facility.

Federal tolling legislation (23 USC 129) is in place to allow States to toll bridges for the purpose of replacement or rehabilitation.

In Pennsylvania, tolling authority requires authorization through either the Pennsylvania Legislature or the Pennsylvania Public-Private Partnership (P3) Board (Act 88 of 2012). The P3 law, as amended by Act 84 of 2022, permits optional tolling via P3 contracts.

Mileage-Based User Fees / Road-User Fees

These charges are a little different from tolls in that they may be tied to GPS technologies to calculate the number of miles you drive, not where you drive, or a flat fee as with Road-User Fees. Essentially, drivers would be charged a small fee for each mile they drive during the year.

Learn More About These User Fees

Managed Lanes

Managed Lanes are additional lanes on a highway where the traffic is managed for reliable travel time. Drivers are offered a choice to pay a toll for a reliable travel time on the new lane(s) with little to no congestion, or to use the existing lanes without charge. This is referred to as an Express Lane. A High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lane offers the additional option to carpools to use the managed lane at a reduced toll.

Whether it is an Express Lane or HOT Lane, tolls would only be charged for using the newly added lane(s) giving drivers the option to travel on the general purpose (existing) lanes free of tolls.

Congestion Pricing

Congestion pricing is a form of tolling used to reduce traffic and the number of vehicles on the road and encourage users to carpool, travel during less busy times, use transit or use alternative routes. Congestion pricing can be implemented on a single roadway or a network of roadways within a specific area or zone. The key is that tolls must be variable based on how many cars are on the roadway. To put it simply, when more cars are on the road during congested time periods, the fee is higher.

Congestion pricing works best where there is regular, recurring and persistent congestion, such as commuter corridors or urban centers where congestion hinders access to businesses, deliveries and emergency services. Reducing congestion in urban centers also means better air quality and more reliable travel times. Implementation of congestion pricing could be permitted through a federal pilot program, but additional legislative action would be needed for implementation in Pennsylvania.

Corridor Tolling

Corridor tolling involves tolling roadways based on the distance a driver travels along that road. With corridor tolling, all lanes of the roadway would be tolled. An example of this would be the existing Pennsylvania Turnpike. Those drivers that use the corridor pay for it, which would include out-of-state travelers.

Corridor tolling is permitted on highways under federal law, but legislative action would be needed to implement in Pennsylvania. Tolling an interstate corridor could be permitted through a federal pilot program, but additional legislative action would be needed for implementation in Pennsylvania.

Fees and Taxes

Fees and taxes may include vehicle-related or package delivery fees, and/or various taxes, with the exception of the gas tax.

By increasing or adjusting these fees or taxes sufficiently, the transportation funding gap could effectively be addressed without the need to implement tolling. Similar to other options, fee and tax increases would require legislative action within Pennsylvania.

It's important to note, as Governor Wolf's Transportation Revenue Options Commission's August 2021 Report stated, [Indexing the gas tax to inflation would correct] a fundamental flaw with the gas tax that it is not fully inflation-adjusted (this will be especially important to the overall revenue picture even as the gas tax is being phased out).